Chapter 31: Chapter 30: Walls

Rayse slept terribly that night. He tossed and turned, unable to shake off the shame of the previous day. Not only did he almost paralyze his friend, he also got a thorough scolding from Aleph. Even worse, it turned out that Lacey could have defended herself without any of that. Who knew?

So he laid there with his eyes closed, blatantly ignoring the morning sun that was prying them awake. He wasn't looking forward to seeing any of his friends today. 

He was considering casting earth scar on himself and falling into a ravine when he heard a rustling at his side, followed by the fragrant smell of roasting herbs. That got him. His stomach grumbled loudly, giving him away.

"Pfft." A muted snicker heightened his embarrassment. Earth scar was getting more and more appealing.

"Just get up already, Ray. Help me with this and stop sulking."

He sat up, seeing no point in pretending now that he was caught. The bright morning sun assaulted his eyes, bringing on a piercing headache. He rubbed at them, hoping that would help. He over at the fire to see a blurry Brandon over the fire.

"Geez, you look horrible."

"Still better looking than you. What's cooking?"

"Dunno, venison or something. I found this stuff curing in master's shed, hope he doesn't mind."

Rayse sat down beside him to stoke the fire. It had gone out last night when Brandon was sleeping, forcing him to get up and get firewood himself.

"I didn't notice mister coming back last night. Did you see him anywhere?"

"He wasn't here when I got up, either. Wonder what happened?"

"Do you think he's so disgusted with us that he'd rather sleep somewhere else?"

"Hah! You're still on that? C'mon, man. You know he's not that sorta guy. Bet he's in the forest right now, cooking up something impossible for our training. Now that would be more like him."

Rayse just watched his friend cook. He was pretty chipper today, humming and tapping his foot as he basted the meat in butter.

"Sorry, Bran." was all he could say. Brandon stopped in his tracks and looked him in the eye. He didn't look mad or anything, but Rayse still found it hard to look at him. Either way, it took him completely off guard when he flicked scalding hot butter at him.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" 

"For being dumb. And for almost ruining my appetite." He set the meat beside the fire to let it rest.

"You're the one that said I could hit you when you're being stupid, so don't be a baby."

"W-what does that have to do with-"

"Look, I'm fine with your decision. I said so when you got me out of there, and I'm saying so now. So stop being all sorry and get us some bread. I'm starving."

Rayse felt better after that. He stood up and went inside Aleph's house, giving Brandon's shoulder a pat on the way. He felt a bit dumb for being down on himself, but maybe that's what the butter was for. He came out with a tray of cut bread and some cheese when he saw more people around the fire. Aside from the kids and Lacey, others had gathered around. It was the people Aleph brought with him from the village that was raided. Rayse came out to greet them, but Lacey spotted him as he was going up, blocking his path.

"Just so you know, I'm sparring with you later, so you better not hold back." was all she said, but her smile was back to her usual one.

He answered with one of his own, feeling far too relieved that they had made up so easily.

"That reminds me, I need to go order some more herbs from your mom. We need more potions for the beatdown I'm about to give you." Rayse smirked, before giving her a peck on the cheek. Lacey's smile got even sweeter, pulling him by the arm back into the crowd.

"Brother!" "You're up!"

The twins greeted him with just as much sweetness. He set down the bread right next to the meat before giving the two a hug. They were already sleeping when they came by last night. 

"You're welcome to eat with us, mister Tom." Brandon was saying, stuffing himself with the bread Rayse just got.

"Thanks, but we already ate on the way. We have much to do. Walls should be going up by midday." The older man answered.

"Need any help?"

"Please eat your fill for now, my boy. You've already put us way ahead of schedule. By the way, is Lord Aleph in?"

He had been looking around for a while, the reason for which they just found out. Surprisingly, it was Lacey who answered.

"The mister's on some business back in town. Said he'd swing by after he's done. He's over at Sleepy Joe's, but I don't think you should be bothering him as he's pretty preoccupied."

So that's where he went. Rayse wondered: Did Lady Iona need something from him?

"Oh? Then maybe I'll send James to go fetch him later. He'd been looking forward to seeing the houses go up."

"Speaking of which-"  Brandon asked in between bites.

"What'll you guys be naming this place? I think you should go with Alephton."

Rayse suddenly felt his headache coming back.

__________________________________

"Who might this be?"

Aleph stood by as the man known as Eric addressed him as such. He'd interacted with Iona's squad beforehand, but it was understandable that Eric wouldn't remember. Regardless, he judged from Iona's reaction that something was wrong.

"I am Aleph, sir Eric. Lady Iona requested my help in treating you."

Eric looked around once again, patting down his own body as if to confirm something.

"Treatment? But I'm fit as a fiddle! I'm… what was I doing…?"

Iona leaned in closer, taking Eric's hand in hers. Her glasses glowed with power, scanning him from head to toe while she brought him up to speed. She was trembling, Aleph noticed, making him more and more concerned.

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"We're back on Hios, Eric. You fell in the last battle, but we got you out safe. Aleph here was just making sure you're okay."

"I owe you my life, then. Thanks, captain. Hios, you say? That's Lord Carrack's hometown isn't it? Is he here?"

There it was again. Aleph saw Iona's expression flicker. It was when Eric called her captain.

"Uhhh, Eric?" Brig spoke up from behind him. It seems that he had been awake for a while.

"Brig? You're here too? Who else made it out? Did Lisa get away safely? Did we get rid of Deceit, at least?"

Brig's face fell. He shared a look with Iona before coming closer, face swimming with complicated emotions that Aleph couldn't discern.

"Lisa's been dead for a while, mate. I'm sorry."

"Dead? But no, we were just–" He stopped himself suddenly, eyes alert.

"This already happened. Lieutenant, what's going on?"

Iona gulped, seeming to debate something. Brig went out of the room in a flash, returning with something on hand. 

"Ohh, dear. Eric, I think you're eroding. Don't worry, Aleph here can help."

"Eroding? Oh shi–"

Eric collapsed back into bed as Brig stabbed a needle right in the gaps between his collarbones. 

"Brig!" Iona gasped, "We hadn't decided what to do with him yet!"

Brig looked back at her, eyes full of remorse and only shook his head. Iona bit her lips hard in frustration, but otherwise kept her thoughts to herself.

Aleph watched it all unfold in silence. Then, he walked back to Eric's bedside to run another hand onto the poor soldier's head. He felt traces of abyss mana, growing more numerous as time passed. He was sure he'd gotten them all out.

"His condition, you've seen it before haven't you?"

Iona left the room sobbing, forcing Brig to be the one to explain things.

"It's a herald's curse. Much of our original squad succumbed to it, back at the front."

Brig sighed, handing Aleph the syringe he used to knock Eric out.

"Horrible way to die, this. It breaks down the walls in your mind, letting your friends watch helplessly as your thoughts travel backwards. Eventually you're an empty husk, your entire being washed away like sand from a broken hourglass…"

Brig sniffled, no doubt recalling some terrible memories. Aleph could sympathize, remembering some of his own. This type of affliction had been common during earth's invasion, though even he had to admit that this variant seemed particularly nasty.

"We found that putting them to sleep had been the most humane way to send them off, and most soldiers had taken to bringing nightlock just in case they needed to use it. Absolutely no one wanted to show themselves regressing into nothingness. Better to sleep and never wake up, you know?"

Brig smiled pitifully, while Aleph was bombarded with memories. Wailing death, the purple plague, salt fever: These were the things they had to deal with on earth. Roselia and her team eradicated these curses through various means, but with each one, the cause was the same: their victims were forcibly injected with mana.

He lept back out of the window, alarming the various citizens below. He dashed into Lacey's family's store and started rummaging through their herb selection, comparing each one to the ones in his mind.

"Mister? What are you doing here so early?" He heard a familiar voice call out, but paid it little mind. He mumbled an already forgotten response before tossing a bag of coins at her, hoping it was enough for the herbs he took.

Just as quickly, he ran back up to Eric's room, where he had taken over his desk. Brig was practically standing the same way Aleph left him, slack jawed and stuttering. Somewhere in his busy mind he still held some sympathy for the man, but he needed his speed now more than he needed to console him.

"Brig, get me some of Joe's flasks from downstairs. I need to distill these herbs… Oh, and ask Iona if she still had the mana crystals I paid her with. If not, ask some of my disciples for some. Just tell them I need it."

"Sir Aleph? I–"

"Move, man! Every second Eric spends in this state is another we cannot reclaim! Move!"

Aleph found an empty glass on the desk as well as a pitcher of water. He filled up the glass halfway and placed sprigs of various herbs into it. He held up a finger under the glass, conjuring a flame to begin the process. A rustling from behind alerted him of someone's presence.

"Ah, good. Brig, just set those over–"

"Aleph. What do you need?" It was Iona who spoke. Aleph was surprised, but he sucked it up. More hands would be welcome.

"Did you bring the crystals? We need them for his treatment."

"Uhh, yes. Here. I already used a few, I hope this is enough." She placed a bag at his side before standing silently by his side. Aleph glanced over to the side, but with both his hands full, he had to ask Iona to hold it up.

"Can you get me something to keep this glass up while I catalyze them? No spells, please. I don't want to contaminate this batch… Nevermind, just hold it up like so… Perfect. I need a hand free for the next step."

Iona meekly complied. Her hands trembled a bit as she held the glass up, but Aleph could tell it wasn't from the heat.

"It's alright, child. Watching someone die never gets easier." He said quietly. 

"My friend had extensive knowledge of Abyss poisoning. It comes with all manner of symptoms, but I believe this one is an offshoot of what she had to deal with. I've…had a lot of time studying how she created her miracle cures, but I managed it after a few decades."

Aleph's hands moved as he spoke, leaving the flame he conjured suspended below the glass so he could proceed with the other materials he would need. Brig had come up at some point, providing him with a rudimentary chemistry set, which was more than he could have asked. The process went much more smoothly after that, and soon Eric's room smelled like the sickly sweet fumes of medicine.

The pair were great assistants, fetching anything Aleph asked with nary a word. They stayed beside Eric the rest of the time. It was well past noon when he stood, administering a draught down Eric's throat. He sputtered by reflex, but swallowed most of the concoction, settling back into sleep in moments. Aleph placed a hand over his head, confirming that the mana lodged in his brain had begun to recede. He sighed in relief, releasing all tension from the room.

"The second he awakes, give me a call. I believe he has passed the worst of it, but monitor the mana in his mind just in case. If it starts growing again, call me. I'll return by morning."

Iona hugged Aleph, followed by Brig a moment later. Aleph gave the two a tired smile, witnessing Brig lose  a battle of speed for the very first time.

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